From Holiday Classic to Rentschler Field, and can the Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup?
Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while hoping I never see the Patriots try to lateral the football ever again.
Kudos to the good sports folks over at The Day, the GameDay crew (it was great seeing former Norwich Free Academy coach Chris Guisti), and Ledyard athletic director Jim Buonocore for giving area high school basketball fans a terrific treat last Monday night with the Holiday Classic at the Mohegan Sun Arena.
The tripleheader featured three distinct games. East Catholic and Notre Dame-West Haven showed why they’re two of the best teams in the state. The Eagles and Green Knights looked like small college teams. I loved watching East Catholic run the floor and execute their Princeton-like backdoor plays. And by the end of the season, Notre Dame-West Haven is going to give Division I tournament teams fits with their size and athleticism.
St. Bernard stamped themselves as serious state championship contenders with a thorough dismantling of defending Division III champ Hand. With stars like Cedrick Similien and Tyson Wheeler, along with the maturation of sophomores Amyre Gray and Amare Marshall, it’s going to be a special season for the Uncasville school.
And who thought that NFA versus New London would be the best game of the night?
“It’s always great to play against Coach (Craig) Parker and (assistant coach) Kareem Brown and all of those guys,” NFA coach Dave Cornish said.
Holiday Classic at Mohegan Sun Arena'Best game of the night.' NFA basketball fell short in Holiday Classic. It was a battle.
The Whalers have something brewing with a lot of young talent. The Wildcats are also young and it might take them a few more games to start jelling.
I love holiday basketball tournaments. l remember seeing St. John’s and Fordham play in the ECAC Holiday Festival at Madison Square Garden and going to the Colonial Classic at the Boston Garden in the late 1970s for games between Boston College, Holy Cross, UMass, and Providence.
Here’s hoping the Holiday Classic at the Mohegan Sun Arena becomes an annual event.
Before we start dreaming about the Boston Bruins holding the Stanley Cup
As of Thursday morning, the Boston Bruins have a won-lost record of 25-4-2. Absolutely incredible.
It’s been an historic start for the B’s but before we can start dreaming about the Stanley Cup returning to Boston for the first time since 2011, let us remember the 1929-30 Boston Bruins. Yup, the B’s had the best regular season in NHL history (percentage-wise) with a mark of 38-5-1 but did not win the Stanley Cup. Of course, they lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Final.
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Let us also remember the NHL teams that had the most wins in a regular season. The 1996 Detroit Red Wings went 62-13-7 and lost in the conference finals, while the 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning went 62-16-4 and lost in the first round.
Then again, the 1976-1977 Montreal Canadiens went 60-8-12 en route to winning the Stanley Cup. Of course, they swept the Bruins in the finals. Although the 1977 Canadiens did have nine future Hall of Famers on their roster, led by Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, and Ken Dryden.
CIAC brings state football championships back to Rentschler Field
Kudos to the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference for bringing state football championships back to Rentschler Field. Some media folks didn’t think the atmosphere was right playing in a stadium that might be only 10 percent full (have they checked in to a Yale football game recently?). I loved it.
Football players love playing in a big stadium. They don’t care how many people are in the stands. Massachusetts plays its state championship games at Gillette Stadium. Do you think those players would rather run onto the field where the greatest franchise in NFL history plays or the turf at Dean College?
Speaking of the Yale Bowl, maybe the CIAC can secure that historic venue for future state title football games.
World Cup final shouldn't end on penalty kicks
I hate penalty kicks ending high school soccer games. I get it. But I still hate it. Deciding the biggest soccer game in the world with PKs, however, doesn’t seem right. It’s actually kind of dumb.
The Argentina-France World Cup final was riveting. It was soccer at its absolute best. But it would have been epic if Lionel Messi's goal early in the overtime session would have been a golden goal, ending things like Bobby Orr flying through the air.
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The NHL has a penalty kick-like shootout that ends regular season games after a short golden goal overtime period. Stanley Cup playoff games, however, are decided by sudden death overtime. Can you imagine a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals ending with a shootout? No.
It’s time for the World Cup to get rid of penalty kicks, especially when the trophy is in the building.
STUCK IN THE ‘70s: On Dec. 25, 1970, the Boston Celtics spent Christmas Day at The Forum in Inglewood, California where they fell to the Los Angeles Lakers, 123-113. Jerry West, the Logo and the greatest Laker of all-time in my book, scored 32 points, dished out 10 assists and grabbed nine rebounds. Happy Hairston added 29 points and 13 rebounds, while Wilt Chamberlain chipped in 24 points and 22 rebounds. John Havlicek led the Celtics with 25 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists. Dave Cowens had 19 points and 13 rebounds, while Don Nelson also had a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.
Jimmy Zanor can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com.
This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Holiday Classic, the Stanley Cup, and the Celtics-Lakers on Christmas
